Cesarean Birth

A Cesarean Section is major abdominal surgery and should be reserved for those times where it is truly medically necessary. When a Cesarean Section is medically necessary we say thank goodness for the technology. However, the risks of major abdominal surgery need to outweigh the risks of a vaginal birth. On the whole vaginal birth is the safest option for the majority of mothers and babies. To help maintain a low risk status and avoid a cesarean section see out page on “How to stay Healthy & Low risk“. Preventing problems before they start will give you and your baby the best chance at a healthy birth!

Today the United States has a 32.7% cesarean rate, more than double that of the maximum rate recommended by the World Health Organization. The World Health Organization issued a new statement and research on this in 2015. However, the high rates of Cesarean sections has not corresponded with a lower infant or maternal mortality or morbidity. Recent studies show that cesarean rates vary greatly from area to area, and hospital to hospital. Additionally, “variability in hospital cesarean rates was not driven by differences in maternal diagnoses or pregnancy complexity,” said [lead study author] Kozhimannil. “This means there was significantly higher variation in hospital rates than would be expected based on women’s health conditions. On average, the likelihood of cesarean delivery for an individual woman varied between 19 and 48 percent across hospitals.”

“With the rising rate of cesarean deliveries in recent years, it is important for clinicians to be well versed in the complications associated with this procedure. Although cesarean deliveries have become dramatically safer over the past century, they are not without significant risks both to the mother and her newborn. Patients and providers need to understand these risks before embarking on this most common of surgical procedures.”